Still trying to get this coffee table finished. I ended up using a coat of Old Masters American Walnut wiping stain after the grain filler and conditioner followed by two coats of OM Espresso gel stain and the color was what we wanted. When I applied the OM polyurethane after that (proper 8-12 sometimes 24 hours waiting between coats) the sanding and buffing took away the color down to the red oak veneer on the plywood and edge banding in places.
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Guessing that this is in the sanding technique, which was either 3M white or black pads, 3M sanding sponges or ProSand 400 grit paper all by hand, is there any general ways to avoid this?
I applied two coats of polyurethane in thick coats with a brush to be followed by coats of 2/3 mineral spirits and 1/3 polyurethane. My fear of sanding more of the stain off is looming as I'll be staring at this piece every evening for the foreseeable future.
Given that the two coats of polyurethane are there, is there a best practice to touching up the stain?